Salvaging apparatus



April 23, 193 59 c. BYLER SALVAGING APPARATUS Filed om. 22, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 23, 1935. c. BYLER SALVAGING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1952 3' Sheets-Sheet 2 C(azm ,Byleg Gum/M 5 April 23, 1935.,

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C. BYLER SALVAGING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1932.

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 CCaua ,ByZer;

?Patented Apr. 23, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for use in salvaging submerged ships and treasure, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a powerful rugged apparatus capable of loosening and elevating even heavy ocean liners from the bottom of the sea.

Another object is to furnish an apparatus con-.

sisting essentially of a floating dry dock or pontoon ship, and a huge grapple which may be operated from the dry dock.

Another object is to combine with such an apparatus, a control ball designed to house operators; such ball being equipped with powerful search lights, and telephones, in order that the 1 operators, when the ball submerged, may locate a sunken ship or the like and then direct the operators on the floating dry dock who control the maneuverin of the dry dock and the opening, closing and raising of the tongs.

A further object is to supply a salvage apparatus in which said ball is combined with a number of hollow cables, preferably tour, which are suitably connected at spaced points to prevent the cables from fouling one another, and to maintain the ball in'an upright position. The cables are preferabiy in pairs, with the wires of the same pitched in opposite directions, whereby they will act in opposition to one another to prevent turning of the ball. Two of said hollow cables will be emthe novel features hereinafter described in detail,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus showing the tongs in the act of raising a sunken vessel, and also showing the control ball positioned at one end of the tongs. a

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view or the apparatus, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l, and also showing portions of the inflatable pontoons connected to the sides of the pontoon ship.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the control ball.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View of the control means for the ball, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. l.

6 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the air cable winches used with the control ball, and taken on the line 86 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a similar view of one of the electric conduit cable winches used with the ball control, and taken on the line l-l of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, 8 designates a pontoon ship which is provided with a central well or opening 9. This ship has propellers ll] 7 and a rudder l i and is designed to be maneuvered under its own power, so that the ship may be navigated to any particular spot and may then be maneuvered to bring its well 9 directly over the ship or the like which is to be raised by the tongs The hull of the pontoon ship is preferably provided with an air chamber !3 which extends on tirely around the hull, and immediately above this air chamber is a fuel chamber M which may extend for any required distance along the sides and around the ends of the ship if desired.

The crews quarters 15 are arranged immediately above the chamber i i, and the machinery floor it is preferably positioned above the crews quarters and beneath the top deck ll.

All of said chambers are strongly braced internally as shown at 48, and from this bracing, derricks i9 rise at the sides of the hull and are joined at their tops by a skeleton roof or supportingv structure 20. As the apparatus is designed to lift extremely heavy loads, it will be understood that the bracing i8,'derricks I9 and skeleton roof 2b are all formed of steel girders, beams or the like, ruggedly secured together by riveting or welding.

The roof 2!! supports a series of pulleys 2-! directly beneath the ridge of the roof, and stout cables 22 pass over these pulleys. Each of these cables preferably consists of about seven or more lines in order to be strong enough to lift the required weight. 7 These cables also pass about tackle blocks 23 which are pivotally connected to links 24 that in turn are pivotally connected to the upper ends of crossed arms 25 of the tongs. At this point it will be noted that the tong arms are'arranged in series and lengthwise of the apparatus these arms are rigidly secured to one anwardly as shown at 21, to power operated winches 28 arranged in the machine compartment it of the surface vessel.

It will be understood that when the tackle blocks 23 are lifted, the links 24 will cause the lower ends of the tong arms to move toward one another for the purpose of forming a cage or cradle 29 to house a sunken vessel 33 or the like, during the lifting of the latter. As the tong arms are of relatively great length and massive construction, it is evident that the cradle can receive even large ocean liners, and furthermore, the great length of the arms permits them to dig into the sea bottom for the purpose of loosening a sunken vessel or the like before lifting it.

While thetongs are of massive proportions, the tong or grapple formed thereby is of relatively simple construction, and consists of a comparatively few parts which may be readily controlled from the surface vessel or pontoon ship.

In accordance with the invention, the tong arms in descending, are positively held in open position. This is accomplished by means of cables which pass about tackle blocks 32 connected to the tong arms at points intermediate between the lower ends of the arms and the point 33 of crossing. The cables 3% pass over pulleys 34 supported by the roof structure and they have their ends connected to other power winches 28 positioned in the machine compartment.

As there are a large number of the cables 22, as well as cables 3i, it will be understood that there will be an equal number of power winches for controlling the same. Consequently, if the operators of the power winches are properly directed, it is manifest that the tong arms may be readily opened or closed in unison while submerged, and if a ship or the like is cradled in the grapple, the tong arms, after being closed by raising of the cables can then be lifted by simultaneously raising all of the cables 22 and 3!. In other words, the lifting power is applied to the grapple at a great number of points, and the lifting strain is distributed to the surface vessel at a great number of points, so that said strains are equalized about the surface vessel.

As the surface vessel can be maneuvered for the purpose of properly placing the grapple, I have provided means for use adjacent to one end of the grapple in directing the work of those on board the surface vessel. For this purpose I place a vertical shaft 35 in one end of the pontoon ship, and on the deck I arrange a control cabin 38 directly over this shaft.

As best seen in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the control cabin contains four power winches 3!, 38, 3S and 49. The spool shaft of each of the winches 3? and 48 are hollow, as shown at ll, and a hollow cable 42 is wound on each of the winches 3'3 and 8, and has its upper end connected in an air-tight manner to the hollow spool shaft of its particular winch. The lower ends of the cables 42, as shown in Fig. 4, are connected to a control ball It will therefore be understood that air from the control cabin 36 can be pumped into one of the hollow cables for supplying the control ball with fresh air, and foul air can be exhausted from the control ball through the other one of said hollow cables.

The winches 38 and 39 in the control cabin also have hollow spool shafts 44, and the cables and 4B wound on these winches are employed as conduits for telephone wires and electric light wires which lead into the control ball 43. The

hollow shafts of the winches 38 and 39 permit the upper ends of the cables 45 and 46 to communicate with the hollow shafts, and consequently, the electric lines can pass through the hollow shafts and be connected to the electric power lines by rotary distributors 4'! or the like, as may be seen from Fig. '7.

The cables 42, 45 and 46 are arranged in square formation, and it is preferred that two of these cables be of left pitch and two of right pitch to oppose one another and to prevent turning of the control ball 43 during the raising or lowering of the latter. Furthermore, as the ball is lowered through the shaft 35 and down into the sea, I place rectangular spacers 48 along the hollow cables at various elevations to prevent the cables from fouling one another clue to contact with under sea objects orfish.

An individual operator will preferably be used for each of the winches 3f, 38, 39 and 40, and it will be obvious, due to the construction described, that operators within the control ball will be furnished with fresh air at all times, regardless of the depth of submergence, and furthermore, operators within the ball, regardless of the depth of submergence, will always have available telephone service and electric light current. The latter is employed to illuminate powerful search lights 49 which are arranged at suitable points around the ball directly below observation windows 58.

In actual practice, the ball 43 will be hollow and of about seven feet inside diameter, and its shell, as well as the lamps 49 and Windows 50 will be sufficiently strong to withstand the pressures encountered at great depths. The operators enter the ball through a manhole 5| while the ball is ondeck and within the control cabin.

I also prefer to equip the surface vessel with Winch operated electric lines 51a which will support powerful electric lamps 52 that will be suspended around the grapple as the latter is raised and lowered.

In operating the apparatus, it will be assumed that the grapple is normally raised to a position where it occupies the Well 9. At such time, if the tongs are opened, their arms may be brought to rest against the sides 53 of the wall, and they will act to brace the hull of the surface vessel. Furthermore, they will, at such times, not be projecting downwardly to form obstructions which might interfere with the navigation of the pontoon vessel 8.

When it is desired to salvage a sunken vessel or the like, the ship 8 is maneuvered under its own power to the approximate location of the wreck. Then the control ball 43, manned by the requisite number of operators, is lowered for the purpose of determining the exact location of the sunken vessel. As the ball is equipped with powerful search lights, it will be understood that operators within said ball can see for considerable distances in all directions, and consequently, when the wreck is located, the occupants of the ball can impart this information to those on the surface vessel by means of telephone. Furthermore, the ball occupants can instruct those maneuvering the vessel as to just where the vessel should be halted and the grapple lowered. During the lowering of the grapple, the tong arms will be kept open, and such arms can be brought to rest say on the top of the wreck. During this operation, the lamps 52 will aid the occupants of the ball .43 in properly directing the placing of the grapple relatively to the may be accomplished by the use of inflatable sunken ship. Now, at a proper signal from the occupants of the ball, the operators on the surface vessel, by hauling or slacking on the cables 22 and 3|, can bring the sunken vessel or the like within the cradle or cage 29, and then all of the cables 22 and 3! can be simultaneously raised for the purpose of lifting the grapple and its contents up through the Well 9 and into close proximity to the roof structure 20.

With reference to the well 9, it will be noted it will contain a large pool of quiet water, even in a rough sea, and this tends to stabilize and prevent rocking of the surface vessel.

Should it be found in working with the invention that additional pontoonage is required, this bags 5A which may extend along the sides of the hull of the surface vessel and be connected to the latter by hooks 55 or the like. When such extra pontoonage is not needed, the bags 5 can be deflated and stored at some suitable place on the deck of the pontoon ship.

As further information regarding the size of the apparatus, note that the shaft 33 on which the tong arms are pivoted, will be about 400 feet in length, and there will be about 50 sets of tong arms properly spaced along this shaft. These tong arms will be of such length that when the grapple is opened, its mouth will be about 200 feet from point to point.

While I have disclosed what I now consider to be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is apparent that changes may be made in the details disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as expressed in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V

l. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pontoon ship substantially rectangular in plan and provided with a centrally disposed vertical well, air chambers, fuel chambers and machine chambers positioned in superposed relation within the hull of said ship, reinforcing bracing for said chambers extending through the chambers, derricks rising from the deck of the hull above said internal bracing, a skeleton roof rigidly connecting the tops of the derricks, a grapple, pulleys supported by the skeleton roof, cables passing over said pulleys and connected to said grapple, and power winches in said machine chamber for Winding said cables.

2. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pontoon ship substantially rectangular in plan and provided with a centrally disposed vertical well, air chambers, fuel chambers and machine chambers positioned in superposed relation within the hull of said ship, reinforcing bracing for said chambers extending through the chambers, derricks rising from the deck of the hull above said internal bracing, a skeleton roof rigidly connecting the tops of the derricks, a grapple, pulleys supported by the skeleton roof, cables passing over said pulleys and connected to said grapple, power winches in said machine chamber for Winding said cables, and search lights suspended from the hull at the sides of the grapple and adapted to be raised and lowered with the latter.

3. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pontoon ship, a grapple including an elongated shaft extending for the greater length of the ship, a series of pairs of crossed tong arms mounted on said shaft, the arms of each pair being arranged in such close proximity to adjacent pairs that when the arms are in closed position, they form a hollow substantially cylindrical cage of a length substantially equal to the length ofsaid shaft,

rods extending lengthwise of the cage and rigidly connecting said arms between the points of crossing and the tips of the arms, and means operable from the ship for simultaneously openingclosing or holding all of the arms in open or closed position and for raising or lowering said grapple,

. said pontoon ship having a vertical centrally disposed well through which the grapple can be raised or lowered.

4. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pentoon ship, a grapple including an elongated shaft extending for the greater length of the ship, a series of pairs of crossed tong arms mounted on said shaft, the arms of each pair being arranged in such close proximity to adjacent pairs that when the arms are in closed position, they form a hollow substantially cylindrical cage of a length substantially equal to the length of said shaft, rods extending lengthwise of the cage and rigidly connecting said arms between the points of crossing and the tips of the arms, raising elements arranged directly above the points of pivoting of the crossed tong arms, links pivotally connecting said raising elements to ends of the tong arms, other raising elements connected tothe tong arms between the points of crossing of the tong arms and the other ends of said arms, and raising and lowering cables connected to said raising elements and controlled from the pontoon ship for raising or lowering the grapple or for holding the tong arms in any desired position.

5. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pontoon ship, a grapple including an elongated shaft extending for the greater length'of the ship, a series of pairs of crossed tong arms mounted on said shaft, the arms of each pair being arranged in such close proximity to adjacent pairs that when the arms are in closed position, they form a hollow substantially cylindrical cage of a length substantially equal to the length of said shaft, raising elements arranged directly above the points of pivoting of the crossed tong arms, links pivotally connecting said raising elements to ends of the tong arms, other raising elements connected to the tong arms between the points of crossing of the tong arms and the other ends of said arms, raising and lowering cables connected to said raising elements and controlled from the pontoon ship for raising or lowering the grapple or for holding the tong arms in any desired positions, and rigid brace rods connecting all of the tong arms and extending along the sides of said cage.

6. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pontoon ship, a grapple including an elongated shaft extending for the greater length of the ship, a series of pairs of crossed tong arms mounted on said shaft, the arms of each pair being arranged in such close proximity to adjacent pairs that when the arms are in closed position, they form a hollow substantially cylindrical cage of a length substantially equal to the length of said shaft, rods extending lengthwise of the cage and rigidly connecting said arms between the points of crossing and the tips of the arms, raising elements arranged directly above the points of pivoting of the crossed tong arms, links pivotally connecting said raising elements to ends of the tong arms, other raising elements connected to the tong arms between the points of crossing of the tong arms and the other ends of said arms, raising and lowering cables connected to said raising elements and controlled from the pontoon ship for raising or lowering the grapple or for holding the tong arms in any desired positions.

'7. A salvaging apparatus comprising a pontoon ship having a Well in the central portion thereof, a super-structure forming part of the ship and having portions extending across said well, a grapple including an elongated shaft extending for the greater length of the ship, a series of pairs of crossed tong arms mounted on said shaft, the arms of each pair being arranged in such close proximity to adjacent pairs that when the arms are in closed position, they form a hollow substantially cylindrical cage of a length substantially equal to the length of said shaft rods extending lengthwise of the cage and rigidly connecting said arms between the points of crossing and the tips of the arms, pulleys on the sup-er structure arranged directly above the points of pivoting of the crossed tong arms, cables suspended from said pulleys, links pivotally conmeeting said cables to the upper ends of the tong arms, auxiliary pulleys carried by said super structure, and auxiliary cables suspended from the last mentioned pulleys and connected to the tong arms between the points of crossing of the tong arms and the lower ends of said arms, the last mentioned cables being adapted to positively open said arms and to assist in raising the grapple when the arms are in closed position, said shaft being positioned at the points of crossing of said arms.

CLAUDE BYLER. 

